Grand jury indicts former ODU players Evans, Wilkins

Former Old Dominion football players Reid Evans and Markell Wilkins were indicted by a Norfolk grand jury Wednesday for their roles in an alleged sexual assault and will stand trial at a date to be determined.

"Certainly, we're disappointed, to say the least, that the case wasn't dismissed," said John Hooker, Evans' attorney. "Unfortunately, an innocent young man must now stand trial and endure the difficulties of preparing for trial. Hopefully, the Commonwealth's Attorney's office will see fit to drop these cases.

Evans and former roommate Jack Ly originally were charged with 10 counts apiece related to rape, forcible sodomy and abduction.

Eight of the 10 counts against Evans were withdrawn by the prosecution or dismissed by the judge at a Dec. 20 preliminary hearing. All 10 counts against Ly were with withdrawn or dismissed.

Wilkins' original two charges remained.

The incident occurred last June 16 and ended that night at an ODU dorm. Evans and Ly met two young women for the first time at the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The two women later returned to a house in Hampton where one of them was staying for the weekend, and from where Evans and Ly picked them up late that night and drove to their dorm.

During the December hearing, both young women provided explicit and at times emotional testimony of alcohol-laced sexual encounters that night.

Defense attorneys have tried to portray the sex as consensual and that the young women were regretful afterward. The commonwealth's attorney argued that the young women did not consent because impairment and poor judgment do not equate to consent.

Evans was suspended from ODU's football program after his arrest. He was a starting wide receiver on the 2011 team and was expected to be a major contributor last season.

Wilkins, a starting defensive back on the 2011 team, was identified later during the investigation by campus police. He was suspended from the program following his arrest.

A 19-year-old Portsmouth woman is facing multiple charges following a police pursuit that ended in Newport News over the weekend and involved two children reported missing in Chesapeake, an official said.